Hollywood union reaches tentative deal with studios

Under the agreement, which still has to be ratified, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees would receive a 2 percent annual wage increase over three years and modest increases in health and pension plans. IATSE represents camera operators, set decorators, grips and other behind-the-camera folks. From the LAT:

Members, however, would also be required for the first time to pay premiums between $25 and $50 a month for healthcare coverage, said one person familiar with the deal. The union agreed to the concession as a way to help close a large deficit in its health and pension plans -- projected to be $350 million over the next three years because of rising investment losses and medical costs. The two sides have been sharply divided over how to close the deficit.

These were the first contract talks involving IATSE chief Matt Loeb, who had been expected to take a more aggressive position than his predecessor, Tom Short. From Deadline:

This news is surprising since there'd been an impasse in the bargaining with sources telling me that both sides had taken hardline positions as recently as the end of March. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts (IATSE) and Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) even made an announcement on March 27th that they needed "additional time to review data before resuming talks". But those talks resumed yesterday and the breakthrough came last night.